John Zacharias

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Dusan Makavejev's Montenegro is one of his most twisted works, as well as one of the most engaging. Susan Anspach stars as a housewife -- who, as soon becomes apparent, is obviously insane. She cooks the family a meal... then eats it herself. She puts poison in the dog's food bowl... then tells the dog it's up to him whether or not he eats it. Soon enough, she finds herself on a visit with a group of equally strange Yugoslavians, and she spends a few days soaking up the atmosphere in a seedy strip club. Eventually, she returns home, obviously no better off than when she left. (Allegedly this is based on a true story, but I just don't buy it...) The beginning of the movie is extremely engrossing, but just when you think Susan's journey is going to amount to something, Makavejev resorts to his old shock-value tricks -- in this case, lots of male nudity and a dildo mounted to a remote-controlled toy tank which chases a girl around the strip club stage for five minutes. Tell us a real story, Dusan, instead of giving us some hokey nonsense.